


Space

by Cjcorrigan



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2013-07-09
Packaged: 2017-12-18 06:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/876449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cjcorrigan/pseuds/Cjcorrigan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short reflection on the changes in Dave's life after a year on the meteor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Space

If there was anything Dave had learned in the first year on the meteor it was that space was cold. He had never been so cold in his life, in fact. Texas had been warm and muggy every day of the year. The hot sun beat down on him for the first thirteen years of his life, and even when he entered his respective Sburb world, he was hot, for God’s sake the place had ‘heat’ in its name, but he had no such luck on the meteor.

At first he shivered constantly, and Rose, who had been accustomed to cold climates since she was a child, mocked him incessantly for it while Kanaya analyzed the two of them with those ever-watchful eyes of hers. Even after poking fun, she gave him a half smile and wrapped her arms around him to warm him up and for the first time since seeing his brother’s corpse, he felt like he wasn’t alone. 

At first he pulled away. He felt like he was betraying Bro. How could he accept someone else as his family so easily after the only family he’d had was lost because Dave had to do something so stupid as help Egbert out with his stupid computer game! Egbert…

John. When the bucket came through the portal, the only thing better than seeing Karkat flip his shit was the note inside. It meant Jade and John were safe, but he couldn’t register it at the time, because by then, he hadn’t even registered that he and Rose were alive. Later after Rose was settling in, chatting with the other trolls, making fast friends with Terezi and the Mayor, he snuck into the library to find the trash can, where Karkat had thrown the letter away. 

Looking over each shoulder to be sure no one saw, he stole the parchment away and smuggled it into his room. He hid it under his pillow, and before he went to sleep he took a whiff of the paper. Though in the beginning the scent was as unfamiliar to him as anything else on this hunk of space rock was, by the end of month one it was the only thing keeping him sane. It wasn’t just the essence d’egbert, but the sound of the paper crinkling in his grasp and beneath the pillow when he laid down, and the texture of the stationary under his fingers when he stuffed his hand under to feel it on the nights he just couldn’t sleep.

He was sure Rose knew, but he wouldn’t let himself accept the fact for three months, around the same time he stopped pulling away from her embraces, and began letting himself hug her back, even laying his head on her shoulder on occasion. It was then that he realized Rose would never replace his brother, no one would. It was like when Bro brought home an older gentleman named Mr. Harley for a visit, and Dave was green with envy for Bro’s attention. After Mr. Harley went home, and Bro tucked Dave in, he asked Bro if now he loved Mr. Harley more than he loved him. Of course Bro shook his head and laughed, ruffling Dave’s hair playfully and giving him a shot kiss on the head. “Don’t be silly, little bro. Your heart grows every day, just like you do. When you love someone new, it doesn’t replace the love you already had, it just adds new love to your life.” That was the day Dave took his headphones off in recess and let the other kids pull him into their joyful games.

Even after a year, space was still cold, but Dave learnt to deal with it. He had a blanket to keep him warm at night, a sister to hold and be held by when he really just needed a hug, and a cape to wrap himself up in when he felt alone and helpless, because at least his cape showed he’d done something right. The chill of the space eventually became comforting as well. It meant he’d moved on from where he was, and at least that was something.


End file.
